Shelf-cabinet assembly



March 8, 1966 D. w. DOHERTY SHELF-CABINET ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 6, 1964 March 8, 1966 D. w. DOHERTY 3,239,299

SHELF-CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed May 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I III- II a II llllul.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent T 3,239,299 SHELF-CABINET ASEMBLY Donald W.Doherty, Park Ridge, 111., assignor to Queen Manufacturing Co., Inc.,Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 6, 1964, Ser. No.365,382 6 Claims. (Cl. 312255) This invention relates to shelf-cabinetstructures and has particular relation to an assembly having portionscapable of association to form a cabinet.

One purpose of the invention is to provide a shelf structure usablealternately as a shelf and as top and bottom walls of a cabinet.

Another purpose is to provide a cabinet formed of a plurality of wallpanels, some of said Wall panels being usable as shelves.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly which may beassembled and disassembled by hand and without the use of tools of anykind.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly of maximumeconomy and simplicity in manufacture and use.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly usable inassociation with pole supports therefor.

Other purposes will appear from time to time during the course of thespecification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a detail view on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view in partial cross section;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 1, with partsomitted; and

FIGURE 6 is a detail view on an enlarged scale.

Like parts are indicated by like numerals throughout the specificationand drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, a pair ofspaced pole supports 1 is shown as supporting a shelf 2 and a cabinet 3.

FIGURE 2 illustrates one planar surface of the shelf 2. It will beobserved that the shelf 2 carries, at its opposite longitudinal edgesand centrally of each of said edges, a hollow sleeve. Since the sleevesare identical, they are both designated by the numeral 2a. FIGURE 2illustrates a surface of the shelf 2 which is normally the undersurfacewhen the shelf 2 is employed as a shelf, as indicated in FIGURE 1. Theshelf 2, as may be more easily seen in FIGURE 3, includes an uppersurface 4 and a depending skirt 5 which depends from the entireperipheral edge of the surface 4. The sleeve 2a and skirt 5 arecoextensive at the sleeve 2a. The undersurface 6 of shelf 2, as bestseen in FIGURE 2, has formed therein and extending therefrom a ridge 7.The ridge 7 parallels the skirt 5 throughout the extension thereof aboutthe shelf 2 in spaced relationship with the skirt 5 to form therewith aperipheral groove 8. A second ridge 9 extends from the surface 6 inspaced parallel relationship with a portion of the ridge 7 which in turnparallels one longitudinal extension of the skirt 5, the ridge 9forming, with the parallel, opposed portion of ridge 7, a groove 10.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that a set of two shelfstructures 2 is shown. The shelves 2 are spaced vertically one from theother, and the lowermost thereof has been inverted. Thus, the grooves 8,10 of the shelf structures 2 shown in FIGURE 3 are positioned in spacedaligned and opposed relationship. Illustrated at 11 in FIGURE 3 is aback wall panel of generally rectilinear configuration. A pair of spacedside wall Patented Mar. 8, I966 panels 12, 13 is illustrated in FIGURE 3and a set of generally rectilinear sliding front wall panels or doors isillustrated at 14 in FIGURE 3.

Each of the side wall panels 12, 13 has a pair of opposite edges turnedinwardly, as indicated, for example, at 15. A central portion of thewalls 12, 13 is inwardly offset in a curved plane, as indicated at 16.It will be observed that the offset portions 16 of walls 12, 13 have aradius substantially equal to that of sleeves 2a and are positioned foralignment with sleeves 2a.

The elements illustrated in FIGURE 3 may be easily assembled by hand toform the cabinet 3, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Means for locking the shelves 2 in desired position on poles 1 isillustrated in FIGURE 4. Each of the sleeves 2a has a groove 2b formedtherein and opening through both edges of the sleeves 20 as at 20. Alock member 17 is provided for insertion into groove 2b to lock thesleeve 2a to the pole support 1. For a more detailed understanding ofthe lock structure shown in FIGURE 4, reference may be had to mycopending application relating thereto.

It will be observed that the shelf 2 may be employed as such, as clearlyshown in FIGURE 1. The shaft 2 may also be employed, by merely invertingone of said shelves 2, as the upper and lower walls of a cabinetstructure supported on the cabinet supports 1. The operator merelypositions a shelf 2, in inverted position, on the supports 1, lockingthe same thereto by manual pressure on a lock member 17, for example, tomove member 17 into a groove 2b of the sleeves 2a carried by shelf 2.Thereafter, wall panel 11 and side wall panels 12, 13 are merelypositioned with their bottom edges in the appropriate portions of groove8. The inwardly turned portions 15 of the walls 12, 13 extend inwardlyfrom the opposite lateral edges of the shelf 2, the back wall panel 11overlapping the same. The sliding front wall panels, or doors, are thenpositioned, one of said doors being positioned in the remaining portionof groove 8 and the other of said doors being positioned in theparalleling groove 10. The upper shelf 2, in its normal position, isthen moved downwardly to seat the upper edges of the wall panels 11-14in the corresponding grooves formed in the undersurface of shelf 2. Thedoors 14 may be opened to permit the manual insertion of lock members 17in sleeves 2a of the upper shelf 2 after the same has been moveddownwardly to receive the wall' panels 1114. Thereupon, the cabinet ofthe invention has been formed and is ready for use. If, at any time, itbe desired to re-ernploy the shelf members 2 as shelves, the operatormerely disengages the lock members 17 from supports 1, separates theshelves 2, removes the Wall panels 11-14, and repositions lower shelf 2in its normal position for aesthetic reasons, though it will beunderstood that the shelf 2 may be employed as a shelf in its invertedposition, when desired.

With the cabinet 3 assembled as above described, an attractiveappearance is created. No means of locking the shelves 2 to the supports1 are visible to the viewer. No fastening or securing elements forholding the wall panels to the spaced shelf members 2 are visible to theviewer, the skirts 5 masking the engagement of the wall panels 11-14with the space shelves 2. The cabinet is, nonetheless, completely rigidand secure and as fully effective as though the panels 11, 12, 13 wereintegrally formed with or secured by fasteners to the upper and lowerwall portions 2.

Whereas there has been shown and described an operative form of theinvention, it should be understood that this showing and description areto be taken in an illustrative and diagrammatic sense only. There aremany modifications in and to the invention which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and which will fall within the scope and spiritof the invention. The scope of the invention should, therefore, belimited only by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A shelf-cabinet assembly comprising a pair of tubular supports, apair of spaced shelf members having sleeve portions surrounding saidsupports at opposite ends of said shelf members, lock means engagingsaid sleeves and supports, said shelf members having opposed groovesegments, wall members extending between said shelf members and havingopposite edges positioned in said groove segments.

2. A cabinet comprising an upper horizontal wall and a lower horizontalwall, said upper and lower walls being identical, each of said upper andlower walls having a first surface, a perimeter skirt depending fromsaid first surface, a second surface opposite said first surface, aperimeter ridge extending from said second surface in parallel spacedrelationship with said perimeter skirt to form a perimeter groovetherewith, a pair of tubular posts, means for holding said shelf membersin spaced relation between and on said posts, one of said shelf membersbeing reversed to cause said second surfaces and grooves to oppose eachother, a plurality of wall members positioned between said shelf membersand held in the groove between the skirt and ridge of each of said shelfmembers.

3. A cabinet and support therefor comprising a pair of spaced tubularposts, a pair of identical shelf members extending between and mountedin spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members beingidentical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and anopposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimetergroove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to causesaid opposite surfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wallhaving its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves ofsaid shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and loweredges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a firstfront wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in theopposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said oppositesurface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling theridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper andlower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wallportion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said secondgroove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge.

4. A cabinet and support therefor comprising a pair of spaced tubularposts, a pair of identical shelf members extending between and mountedin spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members beingidentical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and anopposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimetergroove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to causesaid opposite surfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wallhaving its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves ofsaid shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and loweredges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a firstfront wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in theopposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said oppositesurface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling theridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper andlower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wallportion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said secondgroove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge, each ofsaid side walls having an intermediate portion inwardly offset, saidposts extending along and within said offset portions of said sidewalls.

5. A cabinet and support therefor com-prising a pair of spaced tubularposts, a pair of .identical shelf members extending between and mountedin spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members beingidentical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and anopposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimetergroove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to causesaid oposite surfaces and grooves to reversed to cause said oppositesurfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wall having its upperand shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and loweredges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a firstfront wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in theopposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said oppositesurface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling theridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper endlower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wallportion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said secondgroove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge, said sidewalls being identical, said first and second front wall portions beingidentical.

6. An alternate shelf and cabinet assembly including a pair of spacedposts, a pair of shelf members selectively, slidably carried by andbetween said posts, lock means for locking said shelf members atpredetermined spaced positions on said posts, each of said shelf membershaving a shelf surface and a grooved opposite surface, at least one ofsaid shelf members being reversibly mountable on said posts to causesaid groove opposite surfaces to oppose one another, and a plurality ofgenerally rectilinear wall members, each of said wall members havingupper and lower edges positionable in the grooves of said opposedgrooved surfaces to form a cabinet between said posts and supported onsaid posts by said lock means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 193,339 7/1877Lothrop 21 190 2,636,797 4/1953 Alheit 312265 X FOREIGN PATENTS 855,7152/1940 France. 1,168,484 9/1958 France.

256,671 8/ 1926 Great Britain. 512,887 2/1955 Italy.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F, DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.

1. A SHELF-CABINET ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF TUBULAR SUPPORTS, APAIR OF SPACED SHELF MEMBERS HAVING SLEEVE PORTIONS SURROUNDING SAIDSUPPORTS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SHELF MEMBERS, LOCK MEANS ENGAGINGSAID SLEEVES AND SUPPORTS, SAID SHELF MEMBERS HAVING OPPOSED GROOVESEGMENTS, WALL MEMBERS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SHELF MEMBERS AND HAVINGOPPOSITE EDGES POSITIONED IN SAID GROOVE SEGMENTS.